The first thing he noticed was the crickets chirping in the night. Blues sat up alone in his bedroom, mind racing as he went over the plans he'd been pondering for weeks, but that he'd decided on that day.

He didn't belong at Light Labs. That much he'd become painfully aware of.

It wasn't that he was being made to feel unwelcome. Quite the opposite, it appeared that almost everyone went out of their way to include him. Rock and Roll especially worked to be with him, eagerly dragging him into their games and conversations just as they did with each other. He did enjoy their attention, though something nagged at him as Roll showed off her tool kit or Rock discussed proper positioning for firing off a buster.

Blues still had some discomfort with Father, which he apparently noticed and was respecting, giving him his space much of the time. Still, Father did what he could to make it clear he wanted to mend bridges, and was there when he was ready. Blues appreciated that, and did hope he would get there eventually.

The Robot Masters, too, seemed happy to welcome him into the fold. He expected their shared experience having been brainwashed by Wily left them more sympathetic towards him. Oil Man, Cut Man, and Guts Man especially seemed to work him into their group, being approximately the same age as Blues now was. He admitted, he did enjoy the commarradery; such easy-going friendship building had not been encouraged at the Skull Fortress. It was nice to just hang out with a few bots at his own age level.

Yet, still, something wasn't right. As happy as he was now, Blues couldn't shake the feeling this wasn't where he was supposed to be. However, he was happier than he'd been in years, so he had tried to ignore the feeling. Until today, when he got a horrifying idea of where that feeling might be coming from.

He had been out with Roll on an errands run. Officially, he wasn't supposed to be outside Light Labs too often, but routine trips like this were allowed. While they were out they had been attacked. It was four of Wily's bots: Snake Man, Top Man, Crash Man, and Gemini Man. They had come after Blues specifically. Sent by Wily to bring "Break Man" back into the fold.

Blues had no intention of going back. Without any other option, he had fought, lest Roll or the innocents at the store get hurt. He was disarmed, but he made due with what he had. Outnumbered and outgunned, he fought as best he could. He would have been doomed to be taken, had Rock not shown up as Mega Man and driven them off.

One incident, however, had engrained itself in his mind. Once, Top Man had succeeded at pinning him up against the wall. Leaning in, he got uncomfortably close to Blues' face.

"Feels good, doesn't it, Breaky?" he asked.

Blues should have ignored him. He should have let the comment slide and moved along. But he didn't. "What are you talking about?"

"Scrappin'." Top Man gave a snicker. "Look at you. Light reprogramed you into a babysitter bot, and you're still getting into the thick of it."

"He didn't reprogram me!" Blue had shouted. "This is who I am now!"

"Don't kid yourself." The cruel smirk widened. "You left old man Light in the first place because he was going to reprogram you. Deep down, you really are Break Man. Why fight us? You know you want to come back."

"No!" Blues shoved hard, sending his opponent flying.

It hadn't taken long after that for Mega Man to arrive, and between the two of them, the Light Brothers succeeded at driving the enemy off. There had been much celebration, and to almost everyone, it seemed like disaster was averted.

Blues knew otherwise, though. Deep down, he was pondering what Top Man had said. What if he was right? After all, he was good at fighting. He didn't get the rush out of it he got while under Wily, but it did come naturally and without a second thought. What if Break Man had been the real person, and Blues Light was the impersonator.

He groaned. This was all making his head hurt. He tried to put on a happy, joking face around the others, but here, by himself, he couldn't hold it back. His greatest fear had been realized. His core personality had been tampered with. Whether it was by Light or by Wily, he couldn't say. All he did know is that he had questions, and none of those questions had answers.

Over on his shelf, his own plans and schematics were laid out, both for how he had originally been, and for how he was now. Father had provided them at his request. However, no matter how much Blues went over them, they answered nothing. A piece was still missing.

He had figured it out early that afternoon. What he needed was the missing piece between what he'd been made as and what he was now. He needed his schematics from Dr. Wily.

Of course, that was no simple feat. Dr. Wily wanted Break Man back and Blues had no intention of becoming that again. There was no way he'd supply the needed information. So Blues would need to steal it from the Skull Fortress himself.

With that plan, he couldn't stay at Light Labs. He knew Father would forbid him from even trying. Might even restrict him to the Labs, or even his own room. No. Blues was going to have to do this alone, and he was going to have to be completely alone.

A tremor of guilt crept in when he thought about his course of action. Rock and Roll would be heartbroken when they found out, no doubt. Rock would also probably insist he could help. Blues almost wanted to ask, but he knew Rock was too close to their father to act in secret. Roll was brilliant for her age, but she was still a kindergartener. He'd never risk her like that.

He'd also be leaving his new friends behind. He regretted it, but he hoped they'd understand how much he needed to do this.

Father would...Blues grimaced. He didn't want to think about what he was doing to Father. Still, there was a chance Father was behind this. Not a likely one, but a chance. Blues still felt guilty about how devastated he was going to be when he found his eldest gone again.

Taking a breath, packed up the copies of his schematics into a small bag. He'd need them to compare to Wily's once he got it.

Before heading out, he looked at himself in the mirror. In the short time he'd been at Light Labs, he'd developed a bit of a fashion taste for himself. He now wore a red button-down shirt underneath a soft grey vest and comfortable black pants. He pulled a dark grey jacket over these, and wrapped a yellow scarf around his neck. The scarf had been a gift to him on his return, and as guilty as it made him feel, he didn't want to leave it behind. It was like having a piece of home with him. Even if he might not be welcome back home again.

He had also slipped on a pair of sunglasses. True, this would look odd at night. It wouldn't hamper his vision, due to the lights naturally in his eyes, but others might find it strange to see a teenage boy walking around in the dark with sunglasses. Still, they served another purpose: no one would identify him as a bot, nonetheless as Blues Light. He'd have perfect anonymity.

In total silence, he crept down to the lab and picked up the last thing he needed before he left. There, in a box of confiscated items, sat the gear he had used as Break Man: the helmet, the jumpsuit, and the proto buster. If he was to have any chance of stealing his plans back, he'd need gear, and as much as he loathed using Wily's gear, there was nowhere else to get it.

Still, there was no reason to go around with reminders of his time in slavery. As soon as he had some shelter, he planned on bleaching the jumpsuit and dyeing it a lighter color. He'd also paint the black portions of the helmet white. As for now, he contented himself with ripping off the mouth guard so at least a portion of his face would be visible.

He felt a brush against his leg, and for a moment he was afraid he was caught. However, as he turned, he only saw Tango, who was rubbing herself against his leg.

"Oh, hey, girl," he said, reaching down to scratch her behind the ear. "It's just you."

The robot cat purred and wrapped herself around his leg. The clear affection Tango was showing caused the guilt to intensify, but Blues shook it off. This was something he had to do.

"I'm gonna be gone for a while, okay?" he said in a hushed whisper. "I'm just getting something. I'll come back as soon as I get it."

Tango mewed and stared up at him with wide, luminescent eyes. It took all Blues' strength not to just pick her up and take her with him.

Instead, he straightened up and prepared for his trip. Before he left, he set out three hand-written notes. One to Rock. One to Roll. One to Father. They would explain everything. He hoped they'd forgive him for what he was going to do.

It didn't take long to get out of the building and start heading down the road away from the labs. He cast a longing glance back at his home. He toyed with the end of his scarf as he considered turning around. Going back and pretending like none of this had ever happened. But he shook that off and turned back firmly on his way. One day, he'd return, and then he could really be Blues Light again. Until then, he'd face the world alone. As the first of his kind. As Proto Man.

Taking a deep breath, he started to whistle an old melody, one he had written long ago, back when he was confident about who he was and where he belonged. Now, with that melody from the past as his comfort, he walked towards an uncertain future.